lostmediaarchivefandomcom-20200216-history
Rob Ford Crack Videos (Unreleased)
Rob Ford was the mayor of Toronto, Ontario from 2010 to 2014. He was subject to a couple of scandals involving videos of him smoking crack and making various racial and homophobic slurs. To this day, only one of these videos has been released, though there are reports of two more. Following Ford's death from cancer on March 22, 2016, it seems unlikely that the other videos will not be released out of respect for his family. First Video On May 16, 2013, the website Gawker said it had been offered a video recording of Ford smoking crack cocaine and making homophobic slurs towards Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premiere Kathleen Wynn. Gawker editor John Cook reported that he viewed the video and described that it features Ford holding a clear glass pipe in one hand and a lighter in the other. According to Cook, Ford subsequently lights the pipe and inhales. On May 3, two Toronto Star reporters wrote that they had viewed the clip, on a smartphone in the backseat of a car. They noted that they have "no way to verify the authenticity of the video" but that it "appears to clearly show Ford in a well-lit room" and "inhaling from what appears to be a glass crack pipe." On May 17th, Mayor Ford denied any allegations of smoking crack and also denied the existence of the video. Gawker posted that it had lost touch with the video owner on May 23rd. On October 31st 2013, Toronto Police reported to have discovered a deleted version of the video on a computer hard drive that was seized during a drug raid. Ford finally admitted to smoking crack on November 5, 2013. Although it's in the possession of Toronto Police, the video has not been made public. Second Video (released) On November 7, 2013, The Toronto Star purchased another video of Ford for $5000. This video depicts the mayor in a tirade in which he shouts "I need fuckin' ten minutes to make sure he's dead!" amongst other threats. The context of the threats in the video are unknown. Mayor Ford came out and said that he was "extremely inebriated". He also went on to say, "All I can say is again I've made mistakes. It's extremely embarrassing. The whole world's going to see it. You know what? I don't have a problem with it. But it is extremely embarrassing, but I don't know what to say but again I am apologizing. Again, when you're in that state ... I hope none of you have ever or will ever be in that state." Although he isn't smoking crack in the video, many have argued that he isn't inebriated, because he shows signs one would show after smoking crack. This is the only video a media outlet has purchased and released to the public. Third Video On April 30, 2014, the Globe and Mail had received a thumbnail of a video that had allegedly been recorded April 26. The video shows the mayor smoking crack in his sister's basement from a long copper-colored crack pipe. The seller of the video demanded 6 figures for release. Like the first one, this third and final video has also not been released to the public. The following day, Ford's lawyer announced that Ford would be taking a leave of absence from his duties as mayor to temporarily enter rehab. Category:Lost Recordings of Real Incidents Category:Partially Found Media